Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress and singer. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. She gained critical acclaim as the title character on the television series Veronica Mars from September 2004 to May 2007. She reprised the eponymous role in the 2014 film continuation of the series. Since 2012, Bell has starred as Jeannie van der Hooven in the Showtime series House of Lies. During her time on Veronica Mars, Bell appeared as Mary Lane in the film Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, a reprise of the role she had played in the New York theatrical production of the musical upon which the film was based. She also portrayed the lead role in the 2006 film Pulse, the remake of a J-Horror film. In 2007, Bell joined the cast of the sci-fi television series Heroes, playing the character Elle Bishop, and the drama series Gossip Girl, as the off-screen titular narrator. In 2008, she played Sarah Marshall in the comedy film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which garnered her fame. She has since appeared in a number of comedy films, such as Couples Retreat, You Again, and When in Rome. Bell also voices Lucy Stillman in the Assassin's Creed video game series and Princess Anna in Frozen. Early life and family Bell was born and raised in Huntington Woods, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Her mother, Lorelei (née Frygier), is a registered nurse, and her father, Tom Bell, works as the television news director for CBS Television in Sacramento. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and she has two half-sisters, Sara and Jody, from her father's second marriage. Bell is of Polish and Scottish descent. Bell has strabismus, which affects her right eye. She inherited it from her mother, who had it corrected as a child. Bell claims that if she does not get enough sleep, it aggravates the ailment. She calls her right eye "Wonky." Bell stated that she did not like her first name at the age of four. Bell's mother convinced her to go by her middle name of Anne instead; she used the name Annie until high school. Just before her freshman year of high school, Bell's parents decided to pull her from the public school system. She then attended Shrine Catholic High School in nearby Royal Oak, where she took part in the drama and music club. During her time at the school, she won the starring role in the school's 1997 production of The Wizard of Oz, as Dorothy Gale9 and also appeared in productions of Fiddler on the Roof (1995), Lady Be Good (1996), and Li'l Abner (1998). In 1998, the year she graduated, Bell was named the yearbook's "Best Looking Girl" by senior class vote.10 Shortly after her high school graduation, Bell moved to New York City to attend the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University,6 majoring in musical theater.11 In 2001, during her senior year at New York University, Bell left a few credits shy of graduating12 to take a role in the Broadway musical version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Careeredit 1992–2003: Early workedit In 1992, Bell went to her first audition and won a dual role as a banana and a tree13 in a suburban Detroit theater's production of Raggedy Ann and Andy.6 Her mother had established her with an agent before Bell was 13, which allowed her to appear in newspaper advertisements for several Detroit retailers and television commercials. She also began private acting lessons.6 In 1998, she appeared with an uncredited role in the locally filmed film Polish Wedding. In 2001, Bell left New York University to play a role as Becky Thatcher in the short-lived Broadway musical of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. That same year, she made her credited film debut in Pootie Tang. Her one line in the film was cut and her appearance exists only as a scene shown during the credit sequence.14 Additionally, she auditioned for the television series Smallville for the role of Chloe Sullivan, a part eventually won by Allison Mack.15 In 2002, she appeared in the Broadway revival of The Crucible with Liam Neeson, Angela Bettis and Laura Linney. Bell then moved to Los Angeles, California in 2002 because of her friendship with writers Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney,14 and appeared in a handful of television shows as a special guest, finding trouble gaining a recurring role in a television series. Bell had "tested like eight times and booked nothing and every show she tested for got picked up," including auditions for Skin and a Norm Macdonald series.13 2004–06: Veronica Mars and other rolesedit Head and shoulders shot of wide-eyed, young blond woman smiling into the camera. left Bell on the set of Veronica Mars In 2004, Bell appeared in the Lifetime television film Gracie's Choice, which received one of the network's highest ratings.12 She made her debut in a theatrically released film, with David Mamet's Spartan, as Laura Newton, the kidnapped daughter of the U.S. President, acting alongside Val Kilmer. Bell also guest-starred on the HBO's drama Deadwood in a two-episode story arc ("Bullock Returns to the Camp" and "Suffer the Little Children"). At 24, she won the role of the title character in UPN's drama Veronica Mars, which was launched in the fall of 2004. Created by Rob Thomas, the series starred Bell as the seventeen-year-old detective/anti-heroine titular character. Bell noted the parallels between the character of Veronica and her own life—Bell's parents had divorced and her best friend had also died, like that of Veronica.12 The series earned high acclaim from television critics, as did Bell's performance. Some critics felt that she was overlooked, however, and deserved an Emmy Award nomination and win.161718 Aside from working on Veronica Mars, Bell starred in Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, reprising the role she played in the short-lived 2001 off-broadway musical. The musical was a spoof of the 1936 exploitation film of the same name. Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical debuted on the Showtime network on April 16, 2005. Also in April, Bell starred as Gracie in Fifty Pills, an entry for the Tribeca Film Festival. She appeared in a short independent film called The Receipt and the horror film Roman, which was directed by her The Crucible co-star Angela Bettis. Released on August 11, 2006, Pulse starred Bell as the lead Mattie. A remake of the Japanese horror film Kairo, the film grossed US$27.9 million worldwide,;19 however it garnered negative response from critics. Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter commented, "despite the starring presence of Kristen Bell, the young actress has far less interesting material to work with here than she does as character "Veronica Mars.""20 2007–present: Breakout and future projectsedit Veronica Mars continued on UPN until the third season, in which the show was renewed and returned on the newly created The CW. On January 19, 2007, CW Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff announced that, while she was pleased with the gradual improvement of Veronica Mars's ratings, the series would be put on hiatus after February sweeps to air a new reality series, Pussycat Dolls Present. On May 17, 2007 Ostroff announced the cancellation of the series.21 The two-hour series finale aired in the United States on May 22, 2007, and on June 11, 2007 Thomas officially announced in an email to TV Guide's Michael Ausiello that Veronica Mars had been canceled by the CW.22 A Veronica Mars feature film and comic book series continuation had been discussed,23 and for a short time there was talk of another collaboration between Bell and creator Thomas that would be unrelated to the Veronica Mars series.21 Following the cancellation of Veronica Mars, Bell had voiced interest in appearing on Heroes because she was a fan prior to being cast.24 On July 29, 2007, during a train ride back to Los Angeles from the San Diego Comic-Con with Heroes actors Zachary Quinto and Masi Oka, and writers from the series, the writers had mentioned that if she "ever wanted to come on Heroes, give us writers a call," to which Bell said she would "love to."25 She was also spoken to about a role on Lost, but turned down the role2627 of Charlotte Staples Lewis.28 Bell portrayed Elle Bishop on Heroes, a "mysterious young lady" with an "awesome power".25 She did not have to audition for the role of Elle,14 who made her first appearance in an October 2007 episode, and appeared in at least thirteen episodes during the run of the series.29 The casting of Bell, Heroes creator Tim Kring explained, "was not easy to pull off", but because of the large ensemble cast of the series and multiple story arcs, "we found a way to jump into a small window in Bell's schedule.".29 Bell lent her voice to the CW series Gossip Girl: she voiced the title character in every episode of the series, appearing in person only for a surprise cameo in the final episode, portraying herself. Head and shoulders of young, blond woman with hair curling below her shoulders, smiling. Bell at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival Shortly after the cancellation of Veronica Mars in early 2007, Bell filmed on location in Hawaii for her starring role as the title character in the Judd Apatow comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She noted that the improvisational comedy in the film was "a lovely experience".14 The film, written by and also starring Jason Segel, was released theatrically on April 18, 2008 and is considered to be Bell's star-making role. Bell lent her voice and likeness to the video game Assassin's Creed which was released on November 13, 2007 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and April 8, 2008 for the PC.30 Bell reprised her role of Lucy in Assassin's Creed II released on November 17, 2009, and again in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, released on 16 November 2010.31 In the spring of 2006, she finished filming the Star Wars-themed comedy Fanboys, which had its release date pushed to January 14, 2008. This was due to additional funding given to director Kyle Newman to shoot new scenes, however, the busy schedules of the actors only allowed for filming in September 2007, thus moving the release date to accommodate that.32 Bell also starred in the 2009 comedies Serious Moonlight, alongside Meg Ryan, and Couples Retreat, which chronicles four couples who partake in therapy sessions at a tropical island resort. Jason Bateman played her husband.33 She also provided the voice for Cora in Astro Boy. On March 31, 2008, Bell began shooting the Mark Steven Johnson-written Disney film When in Rome in locations in Rome and New York; the film was released in 2010.34 Bell reprised her role as Sarah Marshall for a cameo appearance in the film Get Him to the Greek, a spin-off sequel from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, released June 4, 2010. She co-starred with singers Christina Aguilera and Cher in the film musical Burlesque which was released on Thanksgiving in 2010. Bell had a cameo in horror film, Scream 4, which was released on April 15, 2011.35 She also starred in the 2012 film Big Miracle.36 She has also appeared in the music video for "Madder Red" by Brooklyn experimental rock band Yeasayer. Bell portrayed "Mary Magdalene" in The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio New Testament Bible, a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, dramatized audio New Testament which uses the RSV-CE translation. Bell stars as Jeannie van der Hooven, the female lead on the Showtime series House of Lies, which premiered on January 8, 2012. Bell starred in The Lifeguard, written and directed by Liz W. Garcia, which began filming in July 2012, and was released in August 2013.37 She also voiced Anna in Frozen, which was released on November 22, 2013. In 2013, for multiple episodes, Bell played Ingrid de Forest, an Eagleton City Councilwoman, on Parks and Recreation. On March 13, 2013, it was confirmed that a Veronica Mars film would finally be coming to fruition. Bell and series creator Rob Thomas, launched a fundraising campaign to produce the film through Kickstarter and attained the $2 million goal in less than ten hours.38 The main cast members of the series all reprised their roles in the feature film. Production of the film took place during summer 2013, and it was released theatrically and on video-on-demand on March 14, 2014.3940 In September 2014, Kristen starred with her husband, Dax Shephard, in a commercial for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S.41 It was so popular (with over 20 million YouTube views) that they did another for the holiday season.42 The ad agency McKinney was behind both.43 In the mediaedit In 2006 and again in 2013,44 Bell was selected "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" on PETA's yearly poll.45 She was placed #68 on Maxim's 2005 "Hot 100" list,46 #11 in Maxim's 2006 "Hot 100" list,47 and #46 in Maxim's 2007 "Hot 100" list in which she was stated to have "single-handedly saved the CW from becoming the worst network ever."48 In 2006, Maxim also placed Bell at the top of the "Fall TV's Criminally Sexy Investigators" List.45 In 2008, she was featured at #59 on Ask Men's Top 99 Women of 2008 List.49 Reflecting on her admitted popularity with "geeks", Bell was voted the fourth sexiest woman on TV by the staff at Wizard magazine.50 Bell leans forward over a table, signing autographs. Bell signing in June 2006 at San Francisco's Metreon Bell stated she never thought of herself as womanly because "I always play and look and act 10 years younger than I am," however, she said, "Something magical happened when I turned 25—I looked in the mirror and was like, You might not get carded for an R-rated movie anymore. Like I didn't have a little stick figure anymore."51 Bell has said that many of her characters are tomboys because she was "not homely enough to play the nerdy girl and not nearly pretty enough to play the pretty girl".51 Bell has been associated with the idea that "nerdy is the new cool", and she explained, "what was previously perceived as nerdy is now viewed as original. What I like about nerdiness, geekiness, is it doesn't really matter what you're into—it just means you're not a follower."51 She has also said, "I love nerds. Comic-Con junkies are the tastemakers of tomorrow. Isn't that funny? The tables have turned."14 Vanessa Juarez of Entertainment Weekly commented that Bell's roles on Veronica Mars, Heroes and as a Star Wars fanatic in Fanboys have "solidified her placement at the center of the geek universe", while Rodney Rothman stated, "I guess she's cornered the market on losers."52 Bell's work is often compared to Sarah Michelle Gellar's portrayal of the titular character on the cult television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.53 Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter stated that Bell was "arguably the television successor Gellar's portrayal of Buffy when it comes to fighting bad guys." Bell is sometimes confused with Lauren Conrad from the show The Hills. "Yeah, sometimes fans yell, 'Hey, Lauren' to me, but usually from a distance," said Kristen.20 Despite "new celebrity" status, Bell claimed that she was not concerned because "no one ever recognizes me anyway". As Bell explained, "I hang out with Hayden quite a bit—they never take pictures of me. I just step to the side, and I push myself in front of her when she wants to get out of it, or put her in the car."51 Bell is a recurring guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, appearing in interviews as well as sketches. On The Late Late Show, she shows a humorous hostility towards Craig's robot skeleton sidekick Geoff Peterson, claiming that she had wanted to be Craig's sidekick on his show and taking it upon herself to cut Geoff down every chance she gets. Both Bell and Geoff Peterson appeared with Ferguson during the five Late Late Shows filmed in France.54 In January 2011, it was announced that Bell would be the new face of Neutrogena.55 Personal lifeedit Relationships and familyedit In 2007, Bell ended a five-year relationship with former fiancé Kevin Mann.56 She later told Complex magazine that dating "makes me want to vomit. And not out of grossness—OK, a little bit out of grossness, but just nerves." Bell explains, "I've always been a serial monogamist."51 Bell began dating actor Dax Shepard in late 2007. The couple announced their engagement in January 2010,.57 However, they decided to delay marriage until the state of California passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage.58 They co-starred in the 2012 film Hit and Run.59 After section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act fell on June 26, 2013, Bell asked Shepard to marry her through Twitter,60 which he accepted.61 They were married at the Beverly Hills County Clerk's Office on October 17, 2013.62 They have two daughters: Lincoln Bell Shepard (born March 2013)63 and Delta Bell Shepard (born December 19, 2014).64 Beliefs, interests, and charity workedit Bell with the Dancing Merengue Dog at the 2012 Bonnaroo Music Festival At age 11, Bell became a vegetarian.45 In an interview with PETA, Bell stated, "I have always been an animal lover. I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with—dogs and cats, for example—from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat. I always loved my Brussels sprouts!"65 By 2012 Bell became vegan with her husband after watching the documentary Forks over Knives.6667 During her time in Michigan, Bell fostered animals from Michigan Humane Society and she now supports the San Diego-based Helen Woodward Animal Center. Bell often attends fund raisers for the ASPCA and other non-profit organizations dedicated to protecting animals. She has a Welsh Corgi-Chow Chow mix named Lola, a Welsh Corgi-Chihuahua mix named Shakey, and a black Labrador Retriever named Sadie, who was 11 years old when she was rescued from Hurricane Katrina and adopted by Bell in 2005.768 She and many of those who worked on Veronica Mars, including personal friend Ryan Hansen, are involved with the charity organization Invisible Children, Inc. The goal of the organization is to create awareness regarding the plight of Northern Ugandans who are caught in the midst of a civil war between the government and Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army.69 Bell has also done a public service announcement for Do Something's Healthy Living Campaign.70 Bell supported and campaigned for Barack Obama during the 2008 United States presidential election. Along with Rashida Jones, she visited college campuses in Missouri to discuss the candidates and encourage voter registration.717273 Bell has shown her support for the Writers Guild of America in the writer's strike, appearing in the picket lines in December 2007 stating, "the writers are just looking for some fairness."74 She is also an avid fan of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team.75 Filmographyedit Bell at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con International Filmedit Year Title Role Notes 1998 Polish Wedding Teenage girl Uncredited 2001 Pootie Tang Record executive's daughter 2002 People Are Dead Angela's friend #1 2002 The Cat Returns Hiromi (voice) English dub 2004 Spartan Laura Newton 2004 Gracie's Choice Gracie Thompson 2005 Reefer Madness Mary Lane 2005 Deepwater Nurse Laurie 2005 Last Days of America Friend in New York #1 2005 The Receipt Pretty Girl Short film 2006 Fifty Pills Gracie 2006 Pulse Mattie 2006 Roman The Girl / Isis 2007 Flatland: The Movie Hex (voice) Short film 2008 Fanboys Zoe 2008 Forgetting Sarah Marshall Sarah Marshall 2009 Serious Moonlight Sara 2009 Astro Boy Cora (voice) 2009 Couples Retreat Cynthia 2010 Astro Boy vs. The Junkyard Pirates Cora (voice) Short film 2010 Lost Masterpieces of Pornography June Crenshaw Short film 2010 When in Rome Beth 2010 Get Him to the Greek Sarah Marshall Cameo 2010 You Again Marni Olsen 2010 Burlesque Nikki 2011 Scream 4 Chloe Garret Cameo 2012 Safety Not Guaranteed Belinda St. Sing 2012 Big Miracle Jill Jerard76 2012 Flatland 2: Sphereland Hex (voice) 2012 Hit and Run Annie Also co-producer 2012 Stuck in Love Tricia 2013 Movie 43 Supergirl Segment: "Super Hero Speed Dating" 2013 Some Girl(s) Bobbi 2013 The Lifeguard Leigh 2013 Frozen Princess Anna (voice) 2014 Veronica Mars Veronica Mars Also producer 2014 Unity Narrator Documentary 2015 Frozen Fever Princess Anna (voice) Short film 2016 Michelle Darnell Claire77 Filming Televisionedit Year Title Role Notes 2003 The Shield Jessica Hintel Episode: "The Quick Fix" 2003 American Dreams Amy Fielding Episode: "Act of Contrition" 2003 The O'Keefes Virginia's Owner 2 episodes 2003 The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay Alison Dodge Movie 2003 Everwood Stacey Wilson Episode: "Extra Ordinary" 2004 Gracie's Choice Gracie Thompson Movie 2004 Deadwood Flora Anderson 2 episodes 2004–07 Veronica Mars Veronica Mars Lead role (64 episodes) 2007–08 Heroes Elle Bishop 12 episodes 2007–12 Gossip Girl Gossip Girl (voice) 121 episodes (uncredited); also appeared as herself in the series finale 2009 The Cleveland Show Mandy (voice) Episode: "Da Doggone Daddy-Daughter Dinner Dance" 2009–10 Party Down Uda Bengt 2 episodes 2011 Glenn Martin, DDS Hayley (voice) Episode: "Videogame Wizard" 2011 Robot Chicken Hermione Granger / Sara Lee (voice) Episode: "Some Like It Hitman" 2012–present House of Lies Jeannie van der Hooven Lead role (36 episodes) 2012 Unsupervised Megan (voice) 13 episodes 2012 Lovin' Lakin Herself Episode: "Lakin runs into Kristen Bell" 2013–14 Parks and Recreation Ingrid de Forest 3 episodes 2013 Lady Gaga and the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular Herself Special 2015 Repeat After Me Herself 1 episode 2015 Sanjay and Craig Satine (voice) Episode: "Snake in Love" Video gamesedit Year Title Role 2007 Assassin's Creed Lucy Stillman 2009 Astro Boy: The Video Game Cora 2009 Assassin's Creed II Lucy Stillman 2010 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Lucy Stillman 2013 Disney Infinity Anna 2014 Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes Anna Theatreedit Year Title Role 2001 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Becky Thatcher 2002 The Crucible Susanna Walcott 2003 Sneaux Sneaux Devareaux 2004 A Little Night Music Fredrika Armfeld 2014 Hair Sheila Web seriesedit Year Title Role Notes 2012 Burning Love Mandy 4 episodes 2014 Play It Again, Dick Herself Based on Veronica Mars characters78 Discographyedit Frozen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2013) Singlesedit Track title Performer(s) Peak position Certifications US 79 CAN 79 AUS 80 IRE 81 KOR 82 UK 83 "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" Bell, Agatha Lee Monn, Katie Lopez 51 61 45 35 5 26 RIAA: Platinum84 ARIA: Gold BPI: Silver "For the First Time in Forever" Bell and Idina Menzel 57 70 6285 54 4 38 RIAA: Gold86 ARIA: Gold BPI: Silver "Love Is an Open Door" Bell and Santino Fontana 49 — 9187 — 21 52 "Text Me Merry Christmas" Bell and Straight No Chaser — — — — — — Awards and nominationsedit Year Award Category Work Result 2005 Saturn Award Best Actress on Television Veronica Mars Nominated 2005 Satellite Award Outstanding Actress in a Series, Drama Nominated 2005 Satellite Award Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical Won 2005 Teen Choice Award Choice TV Breakout Performance - Female Veronica Mars Nominated 2006 Saturn Award Best Actress on Television Won 2006 Satellite Award Best Actress in a Series, Drama Nominated 2006 Teen Choice Awards TV - Choice Actress: Drama/Action Adventure Nominated 2007 Saturn Award Best Actress in a Television Program Nominated 2008 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Actress: Comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall Nominated 2008 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Breakout Female Nominated 2009 Saturn Awards Best Guest Starring Role in a Television Series Heroes Nominated 2009 MTV Movie Award Best WTF Moment (shared with Jason Segel) Forgetting Sarah Marshall Nominated 2009 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Action/Adventure Heroes Nominated 2010 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Actress: Comedy Couples Retreat Nominated 2010 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Actress: Romantic Comedy When in Rome Nominated 2013 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Animated Female Frozen Won 2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Actress: Drama Veronica Mars Nominated Category:Women's music Category:1980 births